Total Eclipse of the Heart
by Quadrophenia73
Summary: I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark. We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks. I really need you tonight. Forever's gonna start tonight.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. I used to be the sarcastic polar bear. Ignore the lowercase letters because I'm typing this author's note on my phone so whatever. Anywho I don't own Cause of Death. I don't own Total Eclipse of the Heart, either. Read now lol. **

Blaise Corso always thought she could handle any situation on her own. Most of the time, she could. She could take the stress and physical dangers of her career; she could handle her mother's deteriorating health.

Of course there were times when she felt like she had too much on her plate, but she always managed to face it all without help.

Her relationship with Jeremy Redbird was one of the more complicated things she had juggled. Her original intention was a simple friends with benefits relationship, but it led to something different. She felt herself becoming attached.

She did what she always did. She ended it. Whenever she felt that indescribable feeling, she detached herself before she could get too close.

When Jeremy was stabbed, the feeling became too much. In that horrific moment she realized that she had allowed herself to get too close. Once he pulled through, Blaise ended whatever they had together.

She wondered if she had made the right decision. A cold sensation of guilt had taunted her ever since she broke up with him. And now that sensation was colder and stronger than ever.

"Uh, Blaise? You still with me?"

She snapped out of her contemplation. "What?"

Mal gave her a strange look. "You zoned out on me."

"Whoops. Sorry. What do you want?"

"I was telling you about the dead guy. You know? The one that was found this morning? His limbs were chopped off?"

"Oh, yeah... when are we going to the scene?"

"Uh... we're already at the scene." Mal turned the vehicle off. "Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you shouldn't be working because of- you know what."

"I'm fine," Blaise insisted. "I can work because of 'you know what' just fine. It's not like I can't punch the snot of people or fire a gun."

Mal looked unconvinced but shrugged. "Okay." He made his way to the crime scene with Blaise following him. "Damn. This guy's really gross."

"You think?" She stood beside the limbless torso, cringing her nose at the familiar odor. "What do we have?"

Kai looked up. "See how messy and weird the cuts are? It was done with a jagged rusty knife... why can't these people use samurai swords or something awesome for once?"

She ignored the complaint. "What else?"

Kai jiggled a bag containing two small bottles. "He had these in his pockets. Maybe it's his speeeeed! Or some kinda psychotropic gateway to his dreams!"

"Kai," Mal growled.

"Killjoy," Kai mumbled.

Once the scene was fully investigated and the remains of the body were removed, Blaise returned to the squad car, closing the door with more force than necessary.

"Okay, that was something I'd like to unsee. So we have some sicko out there cutting limbs off and taking them with him. Is this some lame slasher movie reenactment? When we find this creep, I wanna be the one to knock his lights out."

Mal glanced at her but didn't respond. She had told him what was on her mind but had almost threatened him to keep it a secret. "I'm assuming the cat's still in the bag?"

"Yeah. I'll let it out when I want to."

CoD-CoD

Days in the SFPD often seemed to last longer than they should. This day in particular seemed to last forever. It felt as if she had crammed a week's worth of work into one day.

When evening finally fell and it was time to leave, she threw on her brown jacket and grabbed her car keys.

She had almost reached the door when she passed Jeremy, who she had been attempting to avoid. She mentally groaned.

"Hey, Blaise... can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead. Shoot."

"Is everything okay? You've been acting funny." Even though she had basically hidden from him when he was in the hospital, he still cared about her.

"What? More 'Blaise' than usual? If people keep on using my name as an adjective, I'm taking out everyone in this precinct!"

"Let's not do that. I guess it can be put another way..." Jeremy paused, trying up think of an adjective that wouldn't send the conversation in the wrong direction.

She shrugged. "Ah, forget it."

"What's going on? Other than the fact that we... you know, broke up."

"Nothing," she lied.

"I don't buy it."

Blaise leaned against the wall and let out a heavy breath. "What's the point of sugar coating this?" she muttered. _C'mon, spit it out! This is about the two of us and he's gonna find out somehow!_

"Sugar coating what?"

"I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm on a roll! NEW UPDATE LET'S ALL SAY YAY!**

Jeremy choked on the bite of an apple that he had just swallowed. "W-what did you just say?" he coughed, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Aw, c'mon, Redbird, I know you heard me," she growled crossly.

"I did, b-but... are you sure?"

"If I'm not pregnant, I'd like to know why I spent all morning barfing... and last night... and fifteen minutes ago. You know, the crap really should be called all damn day sickness."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't restrain a soft chuckle.

"Then I got all choked up when someone spilled milk in a commercial. Aaaand I'm late."

"For what?" he asked, half a second before he realized what she meant. "Oh! For... that."

Blaise rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. "I took the test four times. If that doesn't confirm it, I don't know what does."

Jeremy bit his bottom lip and contemplated for a moment. "What does this mean?"

Blaise's feet suddenly became very interesting. She stared downwards as she traced circles on the floor with her toe. "I dunno," she mumbled. "What do we do from here? I kinda called quits on whatever we were but this may put a damper on that plan."

Jeremy opened the door to leave the precinct. "Why don't we talk someplace more private? We can go to my apartment."

Blaise thought it over for a moment. "Whatever." Jeremy took that as a positive answer and unlocked his vehicle.

The ride to his apartment passed in an uncomfortable silence other than the rhythmic tune of Blaise's fingers tapping impatiently on the seat armrest.

He parked in front of his apartment complex and turned off the ignition. The metallic sound of his keys broke the silence. "Here we are," he said quietly.

"Yep." Blaise opened the car door followed him inside the complex. She felt like she was entering a home she hadn't set foot in for years, although it had only been merely two weeks.

He unlocked his door and closed it behind them after she entered. Blaise shrugged her jacket off her shoulders and let it slide to the floor. Jeremy picked it up and draped it over the back of a chair.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"Aw, don't be so civil! It's not like it's my first time in your apartment." Blaise opened the fridge. "Ugh, I wish I could have something unhealthy." She opened a bottle of water and plopped down on the couch.

Jeremy took a seat beside her. "Have you been to a doctor yet?"

"Nah. I only found out two days ago. I guess I need to do that... but I don't really wanna sit in a clinic watching people go googoo over parenting magazines."

"Does anybody at work know?" There was a brief moment of silence that only proved that the answer was "yes."

"I told Mal... he was demanding to know what was wrong.. I made him swear not to tell anyone yet."

"Sooner or later everybody will find out. Especially Anders." Jeremy couldn't help but feel a little let down that she had told Mal before announcing the news to him.

"Do we have to mention him?" Blaise groaned. "I don't wanna think about Lieutenant Grouch right now."

"Blaise, you're gonna have to tell him pretty soon. You shouldn't work in the field when-"

"I know, I know. I can't shoot things or punch faces... or walls... for the next however many months." Blaise rested her feet on the coffee table. "I was kinda wanting to know what we'll do." She made a vague gesture with her hand.

"What do you think we should do?

She was silent for a moment. "I don't know." She played with the belt loop of her jeans. "I really, really don't know."

Despite her rough and tough style and personality, she liked children but never planned on having them because of the challenges tied to her job. She never wanted to bring a child into the broken and messed up world.

Blaise cleared her throat and continued. "I don't think I can just... get rid of it though. It's just..." She mentally kicked herself when she felt a lump rising in her throat. "I never expected this to happen." She cleared her throat. "God, I'm starting to sound like a pregnant teenager."

Jeremy touched her arm. "Blaise... it's alright to get scared about something like this."

"Woah, wait, hold the phone. I never said I was scared." Blaise stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

Jeremy let out a sigh. "I know you didn't. Look, no matter what you say, this is really new... and it's kind of daunting."

"...Maybe."

Another uncomfortable silence fell between them. Finally Blaise spoke up to break it. "I guess this means we're back together." Together. The word echoed in her mind. It sounded unclear and almost as scary as the situation.

"I guess so."

"Wanna order a late dinner?" Blaise started dialing the number without awaiting a response.

"Pizza delivery sounds really good right now."

"Pizza it is."

CoD-CoD-CoD

Sometime in the night, Blaise found herself with her head above the toilet. Her stomach churned violently as the pizza she had consumed for dinner threatened to make a dramatic reappearance.

Her attempt proved no avail as she vomited into the toilet. She felt a hand pull her hair back out of her face. "Bleck," she moaned, closing her eyes against the nausea.

Jeremy rubbed her back and handed her a can of ginger ale. "Here, drink this. It'll help."

She took the soda from him and took a long sip. The cold fizzy liquid soothed the nauseous feeling and in a few minutes her stomach began to settle. "Stupid pizza," she grumbled as she flushed the toilet.

"You wanted it."

"Talk me out of it next time." Blaise stood up and noticed for the first time that the toothbrush she kept in his apartment was still on the sink counter. She made no comment as she brushed her teeth to relieve the unpleasant taste in her mouth.

She returned to the living room and tiredly laid down on the couch.

"You can sleep in the bed if you want."

"This was closer," Blaise yawned as she tucked a pillow under her head against the plush armrest.

"You sure?"

"Mmf mm."

"Alrighty then." Jeremy stood in place for a moment, the news of the day still tumbling in various directions in his mind. He received some sort of muffled response and pulled a blanket over her. "Good night."

_What a day._

**Alrighty. Sooner or later the lyrics I used for the summary will be more applicable... I plan for one or two angsty chapters but I'm gonna try to keep this story relatively harmless... ANYWAY! Go to my profile and vote on my poll! It will be up for several more chapters... VOTE, LITTLE PEOPLE! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm on a roll with this story! Yay me!**

"_Come on, keep going. You can do it!" Jeremy coaxed._

_"I'm giving birth, not playing football!" Blaise retorted, gritting her teeth._

_"I can see the head!" a male nurse dressed in drag exclaimed. "Push! The baby's almost out!"_

_"Okay, why in the hell are you wearing drag?" Blaise snapped, biting her lip against a scream as she pushed as hard as she could._

_"You did it! It's here!" Jeremy cheered._

_The doctor gently handed a bundle to Blaise. She let out a scream. In her arms lay a litter of rabbits... with Kai's head._

_"Your babies are healthy and lively!" the doctor congratulated._

_"They're beautiful!" Jeremy cooed, tickling one of the Kai-rabbit creatures. Blaise stared at him in horror as the little animals bounced around madly._

_"Are you crazy? Look at them!"_

_"Can you believe we created these wonderful little beings?"_

_"Uh... hell no! They're not even babies!" Blaise covered her face as one of the odd looking rabbits hopped over her head. But her defense proved no avail. Suddenly all of their coworkers were in the room, cooing over the rabbits._

_"What's going on?!"_

Blaise startled awake, breathing heavily. "What in the-" She glanced over at the clock on the side table. 2:35 AM. She blinked and shook her head in confusion.

"Blaise?" Jeremy murmured, half asleep in the bed beside her. It had been two days since she had told him of her pregnancy. Her first appointment was scheduled for later in the day.

"I just had the worst dream... I gave birth to rabbits with Kai's head."

Jeremy frowned. "That's... scary."

"You kept calling them beautiful... the nurse was dressed in drag..." Blaise shuddered.

"I'm sure that won't happen in real life," Jeremy assured. "Go back to sleep."

"It better not happen," she grumbled, relaxing back against the pillow and closing her eyes. Fortunately her dreams were devoid of Kai-rabbits.

CoD-CoD

Blaise insisted on keeping the pregnancy a secret from their coworkers until after her first doctor's appointment.

"How do you think Anders is gonna react to this?" Blaise pondered as they made their way towards a clinic.

"I don't know. You do know he's going to make you do desk work."

"Don't remind me. I'm not fat and crazy hormonal yet. I can still work in the field... unless I throw up all over the place... but I really don't want to sit on my ass for the next seven or eight months." She turned the knob on the car radio, absentmindedly skipping through the various radio stations.

"Hey, don't change my presets again," Jeremy whined. "You do that every time and it takes too long to change them back."

Blaise grinned in amusement. "I haven't gotten to do that in a week! I missed ruffling Birdy's feathers!" She settled on a classic rock station and leaned back against the seat.

They arrived at the clinic a few minutes later. Fortunately it wasn't overly crowded with the exception of a few other women who read magazines with their significant others as they waited.

Blaise messily scrawled her name on the clipboard. They took a seat near the doorway. "I need to check on my mom after this."

"Are you telling her the news?"

Blaise shrugged. "Dunno. It's not like she'd remember it..."

"How often do you visit her?" He knew that her mother was growing ill physically and mentally but he had yet to meet her.

"Every other day usually. Once a day when I can. Sometimes she knows who I am... other times she doesn't know her own name or where she is." Blaise hoped that her mother would be on one of her rare lucid days. She had grown used to being a stranger to the ailing lady but that never stopped the feeling of sadness whenever her mom looked at her with no sign of recognition in her eyes.

"Blaise Corso?" a nurse called.

"At least we didn't have to wait." The nurse led them into a small bland room. It looked like an ordinary exam room, with various machinery beside the exam bench and a beach scenery painting on the wall.

A petite woman in a white jacket arose from the desk seat she was sitting in. "Hello there. I'm Dr. Rachel Peters. Blaise Corso and Jeremy Redbird?"

"In the flesh," Blaise responded. "So, uh... what exactly do we do?"

"You sit on this exam bench while the two of you fill this out." She pushed over an extra stool for Jeremy and handed Blaise a notepad and pen.

"This isn't some kinda shrink meeting, is it?" Blaise asked as she settled on the bench.

"No. The form is just a paper. Fill out any illnesses that run in either side of the family as well as your own health."

Dr. Peters prepared some of the equipment while Blaise and Jeremy filled out the papers.

"Is it normal to have weird dreams when you're pregnant?" Blaise asked. "Because I had a really wackjob one last night."

"It's completely normal." Dr. Peters opened a tub of gel. "Could you lay back and roll up your shirt?"

Blaise did as told and shuddered when the cold liquid was smeared across her abdomen. "That crap is really cold."

"You're feisty, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"You have no idea," Jeremy remarked.

Dr. Peters took the ultrasound wand and rubbed it against Blaise's stomach. "See that?" She gestured to a shape on the monitor. "That's your baby. He or she is the size of a blueberry now."

"Wow... tiny," were the only words Blaise could find to say.

"Mm hmm, " the doctor agreed. "Judging by the size and your symptoms, you're eight and a half weeks along. Your expected due date is December 1st. Now, keep in mind that most babies are born shortly before or after this date."

She wrote something down on a slip of paper and handed it to them. "In a month or two you should be able to hear the baby's heart beat and at four or five months, we can tell the gender if you wish."

After arranging some future appointments, they made their way to Madeline Corso's home. Blaise fished a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Mom?" she called out. No response. "Mom? It's me."

"W-who's there?" a weak voice answered from the living room. Blaise found her mother sitting in a rocking chair.

"It's me, Mom... Blaise."

It took several long moments, but the old woman's eyes finally lit up somewhat. "Oh, Blaisey Bear, you gave me a fright."

"Blaisey Bear?" Jeremy mouthed silently to Blaise. She poked him in the ribs.

"How are you feeling, Mom? Do you need anything?"

"No, dear, I'm alright. Do sit down..." She took notice of Jeremy. "Who's this young man?"

"This is my, uh... my boyfriend. Jeremy." Her introduction took Jeremy by surprise.

"Oh... hello. Have you been dating long?"

"Well..." Jeremy and Blaise shared a look.

"Mom, there's something I wanted to tell you." Blaise waited for a response. Madeline's gaze had travelled to the window. "Mom?" Nothing. Blaise sighed.

Madeline stirred. "W-what? Kelly, is that you?" If there had been a look of recognition in her eyes before, it was gone.

"No, it's not Kelly... I heard she was coming to visit today."

"Oh, is she? I don't recall..." She furrowed her brow. "It's you, Blaisey! D-didn't you want to tell me something?"

Blaise bit her lip, contemplating. She knew that it was pointless to reveal her news. "Um, yeah... do you want me to fix you anything to eat? It's about dinner time."

"No, no. I'm not hungry."

Blaise took note of how frail and weak the elderly woman looked. "Mom, you should really eat something," she protested.

"Oh, I suppose I would like some soup."

Blaise stood up. "I'll get right on it. J, do you think you can come with me?"

Jeremy followed her into the kitchen. "You aren't telling her?" he whispered.

"What's the use?" she whispered back, opening the cupboard and rummaging through it until she found a can of soup. She turned on the stove and found a can opener and pot.

"She really is bad, huh?"

"Sometimes she's even worse than this. At least she knew who I was twice today. Yesterday, she didn't know anything. I know she can't help it, but... I kinda wish she would recognize her own daughter, you know?"

"It must be really hard," he said softly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah. It is." Blaise watched as the soup began to bubble in the pot. "Can you bring me a bowl and spoon? They're in the cabinet over there." After he handed them to her, she poured the soup into the bowl and turned off the stove.

"Here you go, Mom." Blaise say down in the chair next to Madeline and handed her the bowl and spoon.

Madeline's hand trembled violently as she attempted to raise the spoon to her lips. Blaise steadied her mother's thin and frail hand with her own.

After the soup was finished, Blaise took the bowl into the kitchen and washed it. "We're going to head on out now. You need anything else?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay... Kelly should be here soon." Blaise checked the door and window locks and put on her jacket. "Bye, Mom. I'll try to come by tomorrow."

Her mother bid farewell, but it was evident that she had no remembrance.

Blaise walked to the car in silence and sat quietly in the passenger seat.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy started the car.

"Yep. Just fine."

Later that night as they laid on the couch watching television, Blaise's cell phone rang and vibrated on the side table. "Hello? What?" She paled visibly. "No... I-I was just there... h-how? Alright." She shakily set the phone down.

"What's wrong?"

Blaise's voice trembled as she spoke. "That was my sister. My mom died."

**Dun dun dun. So far I like the response I'm getting on this. Thanks for the reviews, and keep reviewing! If you haven't voted on my poll yet, go to my profile and do it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I decided to write as I await the episode but the On Demand still isn't working. I've decided I'm a Cause of Death addict and when new episodes aren't available, writing is my backup drug to stop me from withdrawing. **

Blaise slipped her smart phone into the pocket of her jeans, her hand trembling slightly. She looked visibly shaken by the news she had just received.

_How_? she thought to herself. "How?" She clenched her hands into fists. "Jesus Christ, I shouldn't have left her!" Her voice rose several octaves.

Jeremy stood up and grabbed her shoulders. "Blaise, calm down. You can't start blaming yourself."

Blaise pulled away from him. "I can. I didn't even tell her she was going to have a grandkid. I left her there. I could have stayed over there and called 911 for her."

She grabbed her keys and made a beeline for the door. "Wait, can I use your car? You know, since mine's at my apartment."

Jeremy picked up his car keys. "I'm driving."

"Oh, come on. I don't need a designated driver!" Blaise argued.

"Blaise, you're too worked up to drive!"

She began to protest but shrugged. "Fine." She turned on her heel and briskly walked out of the apartment.

Jeremy quickened his pace to catch up to her.

"I don't get it. How could she be dead? I was there three hours ago!" Blaise slammed the car door shut with more force than necessary and didn't bother to buckle her seat belt.

The trip to Madeline's suburban home seemed to take much longer than it had earlier that same day, despite the fact that traffic was less congested in the later hours.

"I think I'm gonna go in alone, okay?" Blaise mumbled. Her voice cracked noticeably. "I'll try not to be long."

"Take your time."

Blaise disappeared inside the house. Her sister was in the living room, sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands. "Kelly. What happened?"

"I-I just came in here and couldn't find Mom. I went in the kitchen and saw her on the floor. She... she fell and hit her head."

Blaise made her way into the kitchen. Her stomach sank at what she saw. There was no blood but the scene before her was much harder to watch than any crime scene she had investigated.

Madeline's skin was pale and her eyes were closed. Apurple bruise covered her left temple and forehead. Her nose was swollen and her glasses were broken, the shattered glass reminiscent of a spider web.

Judging by the appearance of the rumpled kitchen rug, Blaise assumed Madeline had tripped over it and hit her head on the hard tile floor.

She touched her mom's stiff cold hand. Tears pooled in her eyes. She refused to believe it when she heard the news over the phone. She refused to believe it while she was in the car. She couldn't try to convince herself otherwise any longer. This was real.

She stayed a little longer until her mother's covered body was loaded into a coroner's van. Finally she returned to Jeremy's vehicle and silently climbed in.

"Ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Take me to my apartment." The bitterness in her voice told him that no matter what protest he brought up, she would win the argument.

He simply did as she said. The silence in the car was unbearable, but neither of them bothered to break it. When they arrived at Blaise's apartment, she finally spoke.

"I'll see you tomorrow... or call... or something." Blaise opened the car door and hesitated for a moment before getting out. "See ya." She closed the door behind her without looking back.

Jeremy took several long moments to think to himself. They hadn't fought since their supposed reconciliation, but they hadn't made progress either. The events that had occurred during the past few weeks hadn't so much as been alluded to.

He hadn't forgotten the fact that Blaise seemingly dropped off of the face of the planet when he was in the hospital after being stabbed. After she broke up with him, he gave her the cold shoulder. Were they really together or simply pretending to be for the baby's sake?

Blaise had said she would see or call him the following day. Jeremy had a feeling that she wouldn't.

CoD-CoD-CoD

Just as Jeremy expected, Blaise didn't call the next day.

After work the following day, he found himself at her apartment door. He stood there for a moment before knocking firmly.

He heard the click of an unlocking door. "Hey."

"Hey." Blaise stepped aside to let him in. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days, despite it only being one.

"You, um... never called."

"I forgot." Blaise picked up the newspaper containing her mother's obituary, reading it for the umpteenth time.

"I just wanted to check on you."

"I'm alright. Really."

"...Really?"

"Don't do that." Blaise scowled. "I'm not in the mood to be talked to like I'm an emotional mess, because I'm _not_!" She tossed the obituary aside, unable to read it again. "I'm going to bed. You can stay or you can leave. It's up to you."

Jeremy contemplated the two options before following her into the bedroom. The bed was made, an evident sign that she had either stayed up all night or crashed on the couch for a couple of hours.

Blaise threw back the covers and climbed into bed. "Kill the light, would ya?" she muttered into her pillow.

He flipped off the light switch and pulled down the covers on the other side of the bed before laying down beside her.

Blaise tossed and turned. The ominous ticking of the clock was an indicator that she wasn't going to sleep tonight.

Eventually she glanced at her alarm clock. 1:47 AM. She climbed out of bed and stared out the window at the San Francisco nighttime skyline, the full moon illuminating the glistening water of the bay.

She couldn't quite understand why she felt so guilt about not telling her mother about the baby. She knew that even if she had brought the subject up, the sickly woman would have forgotten it. She wondered how long her mother laid unconscious in the kitchen floor. Blaise shuddered and tried to push the mental image to the back of her mind.

Suddenly it came to her realization that she was crying. _Damn it_, she scolded herself. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Blaise?" Jeremy sat up in bed and edged closer to her.

"Just go back to sleep," she whispered hoarsely, turning her face away. Of course he didn't listen.

"What's going on?"

She started to say nothing, but that was far from the truth. "Everything. Everything's going on. I'm so frustrated!" It had only been a little over twenty four hours since her mother's death but already the funeral plans were becoming too much to handle.

She took a glance at him. "Why should you even be here for me? I wasn't there for you. I panicked and ran away from everything. You should be mad."

"I was. I really was. But that's behind me now. We can't just keep getting upset about the past."

"Since when did you become an inspirational speaker?"

"Recently."

"Well, nice little speech." Blaise tried to prevent more tears from falling but failed_. Smooth, Corso._

"I need to ask you something."

"...Go on."

"Are we... are we only together because of the baby?"

"I don't know. Everything's so confusing right now! We're right back where we started. Nothing's improved. We're just... I don't know anything right now. I don't know what to do... what we do. Nothing!"

"We have to do something. We can't just avoid each other like we've been doing. This is permanent," he whispered.

"I know that! But what? What do we do? Can we even do this? After everything?" Blaise choked on a sob. Right now she didn't care if she let out her emotions.

Jeremy put his arm around her shoulders. "Just think. What do you want?"

"I want things to work out," she whispered. "For _all_ of us." She rested her head against his shoulder, still upset. "I always wanted more. I freaked out. All these emotions just... they scare me, okay? I'm not used to it."

Now he felt a bit guilty for giving her the cold shoulder after she had ended their prior relationship. "I'm scared about this, too. But it won't work if we don't try."

"I guess I'll give it a shot." Blaise pulled away and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "And if you tell anyone I cried, I'll have a drive-by shooting through your apartment."

**I wrote me a diddly! It goes like this: Oh yay I like reviews, I love them so! Da doo ska poo! Review and I will thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**NEW CHAPTER! It's short but oh well. There's a small-ish time jump in this one. **

Blaise distanced herself from the rest of the world again for a couple of days following her mother's funeral, but she was beginning to open up a little more.

"I guess I won't be kicking ass for a few months," Blaise sighed as she and Jeremy approached Anders' office door. Blaise would have simply walked in unannounced but Jeremy stopped her and rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Come in," Anders barked from the other side. "Corso, Redbird. About time the two of you came here."

"Fun, fun," Blaise snorted.

"We, uh... we need to tell you something," Jeremy began.

"Don't even start. You two are going at it like rabbits. How many couples are in this damn precinct?" Anders scowled.

"That's not _all_ we have to say." Blaise casually rested her feet on the lieutenant's desk.

"Dear Christ, there's more?"

"Don't get your panties in a wad," Blaise snapped. Jeremy nudged her with his elbow.

"Let me guess. Wedding rings and future kids? A house in the suburbs?" Anders eyed them sharply.

"Well... you got one of them right..." Jeremy confirmed.

"The wedding rings...?"

"Guess again," Blaise said.

"Kids...?" Anders furrowed his eyebrow. "I guess this means I need to put you on desk duty, Corso."

"Don't say it out loud," Blaise complained. "Does it have to be now? Can't it be next month?"

"Nope. It's standard procedure. Your field duty is going to be very limited and in a few weeks you'll be forbidden from it. Don't worry, I'll make sure there are lots of files you can work on."

"What a comfort."

"Alright, you two. I don't know how many officers are fooling around behind my back, but don't let your emotions interfere with your work."

"Yes, sir." Jeremy stood up.

"Whatever," Blaise responded. They left Anders' office and stepped into the precinct.

As if someone had expected her to be placed on desk duty, a green folder sat on her desk. "Already?"

She huffed as she opened the folder, looking at the paper as if it had done something deeply offensive to her.

"Glaring at it won't make it go away, you know." Jeremy handed her a cup of decaffeinated coffee. "It's not that bad."

"If it's not that bad, you could do it for me." Blaise distastefully took a sip of the decaf coffee.

"I would, but I have to go to a warehouse with Mal and Natara."

"I could use some good warehouse action. Better than paperwork. This is like having a full-time office job."

Jeremy's phone let out a beep in his pocket. "Gotta go. Try not to rip any files to pieces."

"No promises."

CoD-CoD-CoD

When Blaise was halfway through her second trimester, she scheduled an appointment to learn the baby's gender.

Of course all of their coworkers were aware of the situation by now, despite the fact that they had only directly told Mal and Natara. She even overheard some of the officers (including ones she barely knew) making bets relating to everything from the sex of the baby to how long she and Jeremy had been together.

Desk work quickly became atrociously tedious and boring. Immediately after she entered her second trimester, she was forbidden from active field duty. Anders had assigned an officer to babysit her, and Blaise had put up a long argument when Jeremy agreed with the lieutenant.

The baby, regardless of his or her gender, was proving to be a future soccer player. Or more possibly, a future cop kicking doors down.

"C'mon, give me a break down there," she moaned. "It's bad enough I had to get these hideous clothes."

"The baby's still kicking?"

"When isn't the baby kicking? He or she's been practicing kicking doors open for the past two weeks!"

"At least that's one thing we won't need to teach."

Dr. Peters prepared the ultrasound wand and turned the monitor so that they could view it. Soon the baby's image became visible on the screen. "It looks like your baby's still healthy and growing normally." The doctor studied the image for a few minutes longer. "Do you want to know the gender?"

"Yep."

"Alright. It looks like you're having a..."

**Again, if you haven't voted on my poll, DO IT NOW. It's on my profile. I do believe the result is currently a tie. You guys need to break it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter yay. **

"Do you want to know the gender?"

"Yep."

"Alright. It looks like you're having a baby girl. Congratulations."

A girl. The baby gave a few gentle kicks as she found it deeply offensive that her parents had discovered her gender. She wasn't due for four more months, yet it was already evident that she was an impatient little one.

Later that night Blaise found herself sitting on the couch, looking at the ultrasound image of their daughter that the doctor had given to them.

"We should probably start talking about names soon," Jeremy suggested as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah. Whatever we choose, she's stuck with it. We don't want to give her some god awful name that'll torture her."

"No pressure at all..."

"Nope!"

CoD-CoD-CoD

Blaise was practically bombarded by Amy and Natara the next morning at work.

"Is the baby a boy or girl?" Amy squealed.

"We're dying to know!" Natara exclaimed.

"Hold your horses. Can I get through the door first?" Her coworkers stepped aside to allow her to reach her desk.

Kai bounded into the room. "Finally! The anticipation is over! Spill the beans so everyone can pay me when I win the bet!"

"Kai, you're never going to win a bet here. Get over it," Mal retorted.

Suddenly all of their coworkers seemed to be gathering around Blaise's desk as if anticipating the announcement of a groundbreaking revolution.

"Sheesh... crowded, much? The baby's a girl." Blaise watched as a handful of their coworkers scowled and pulled money out of their pockets, exchanging it with other victorious coworkers who had clearly bet that the baby was a girl. Once the money had been paid, everyone but Mal, Natara, and Kai returned to their duties.

"Ha! Mal lost a bet!" Kai announced. "Pay up, Malligator! Baby Bird's a girl!"

"You didn't even bet that the baby would be a girl!" Mal scowled.

"Kai, if you didn't bet on boy or girl, what in the hell did you bet?" Blaise demanded.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he retreated backwards out of the room towards the lab. "You don't need to know," he whispered in what he must have assumed to be a threatening tone of voice.

Blaise turned to Mal. "What did he bet?"

Mal frowned. "You probably don't want to know. Screw that, you really don't want to know. Really."

CoD-CoD-CoD

A couple of days passed before the SFPD precinct resembled a baby goods store. Streamers were strung here and there, with a large shiny banner declaring, "It's a girl!" Balloons floated about the room and confetti had been sprinkled on the desks. Several gifts and a cake perched on top of Blaise's desk.

It had taken a lot of begging on Natara and Amy's part, but they had talked Anders into reluctantly allowing them to use the precinct as the location for a surprise baby shower.

"She's coming!" Amy whispered. "Places, everyone!"

When Blaise entered the precinct, the lights flipped on to reveal a room decorated in the largest variety of pastel colors possible.

"Holy..." She had expected to see a large stack of case files stacked on her desk, not gifts and a cake. The precinct looked more like a balloon factory than the SFPD bullpen.

"Surprised?" Natara asked.

"Yeah... I was told I had paper work to do. This looks way more fun." Blaise stood near her desk. "That's a lot of presents."

"Yeah... we kind of got carried away..." Amy admitted. "But we had so much fun shopping for baby clothes!"

Fortunately there weren't too many guests. Natara, Amy, Maria, Anna Willis, and a couple of other female officers.

"How did you even get Lieutenant Grouchypuss to let you do this?" Blaise dipped her finger into the icing on the cake and tasted it.

Natara shrugged. "It wasn't easy. But we managed to talk him into it."

Gifts came first. Blaise received numerous baby outfits in various sizes, including onesies and colorful dresses and pajamas printed with animals.

After all the presents had been opened, Blaise counted at least six packages of diapers, seventeen bottles, nine bibs, ten pacifiers, six rattles, and enough stuffed toys to open a Toys R Us.

"Well, I should have enough diapers for the first six months," she noted.

"Probably the first two weeks," Maria corrected. "You'll be surprised when you see how quickly you'll run out."

"Well, that's a comfort." Blaise set the last of the gifts aside. "Thanks, guys."

"Let's play a game!" Amy exclaimed.

"We aren't playing that stupid game where you steal safety pins from people if they cross their legs, are we?"

"No. We were, but Kai took the pins," Natara responded. "But we set up other stuff!" She gestured towards a brightly illustrated baby game poster tacked to one of the walls.

"I'm loving the mixed decor," Blaise commented. It was quite amusing to see a poster of a cartoon baby next to a sign listing wanted criminals.

Natara picked up a blind fold and handed Blaise a sticky paper diaper. "Okay, try to get this as close as possible."

"With a blind fold? Really? How does that even work?" Blaise questioned as Natara blindfolded her.

The diaper sticker managed to find itself on the head of one of the criminals in the wanted poster adjacent to the baby one. Blaise shrugged as she peeled off the blind fold.

None of the decorative diapers were stuck onto their target. The closest was Amy's, which she had placed above the cartoon baby's backside.

With the exception of Anders sticking his head out of his office door to yap about the laughter and noise every half hour, the baby shower passed with little commotion, which was certainly saying something, considering the fact that it took place in a police office precinct.

After the gifts had been transported back to Blaise's apartment that evening, she and Jeremy drove to a restaurant.

"So, were you surprised?"

"You knew about the baby shower?"

"I've known for two weeks."

Blaise punched his arm lightly. "And you didn't tell me? Jerk!" she joked.

Jeremy grinned in amusement and opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the metallic sound of another vehicle colliding into their own.

**Gasp. Y'all need to review now because I want you lovely readers to suggest names for the baby! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**New chapter yay. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cause of Death. Poo. **

Jeremy came to a few moments after the crash. Several feet away, an obviously drunk driver tried to climb out of the white sedan that had clipped them.

He immediately diverted his attention to Blaise. She was unconscious but appeared fine. He rested a hand on her stomach. As active as their daughter normally was, he felt his concern rise when he felt no reassuring kick under his hand.

He swore quietly under his breath. Fortunately an ambulance had already arrived. Jeremy unbuckled his seatbelt, wincing when his left side throbbed with a dull but not serious pain.

One of the paramedics made an attempt to check him for injuries. He pulled away. "Get Blaise first."

"Detective, you could have injuries that you don't know about. You're running on adrenaline. Car accidents tend to be worse than they seem," the paramedic argued. "The others will tend to her."

Jeremy sighed and allowed the paramedic to examine him. Other than some bumps and bruises, he felt fine.

Once the paramedic was assured that he was unharmed, he was permitted to ride to the hospital in the ambulance.

"She seems to be fine. Since she's unconscious, it's likely that she has a concussion. I don't notice serious wounds or any broken bones," one of the paramedics informed. "I'm more concerned about the fact that she's pregnant. How far along is she?"

Jeremy did a quick mental calculation. "Twenty weeks. Is there anything you can do in here?"

"We don't have an ultrasound. Her BP is normal, so that's a good sign."

The ambulance came to a stop in the hospital parking lot. Jeremy was told to wait in the waiting room until he could be examined more fully.

He reluctantly allowed one of the ER doctors to examine him and perform an x-ray.

"No broken bones. You just have some bruises. You'll be sore for a few days, but you're going to be fine," the doctor declared.

"Thanks." Jeremy slipped into his jacket and ventured down the hall until he found Blaise's room.

When Blaise regained consciousness, she became aware of a dull pain in her head. She blinked, taking notice of the bland beige walls and white lights of the room.

"There you are. You're awake," Jeremy spoke from the chair nearby.

"What happened?"

"Our car got hit. The other guy was drunk. You have a concussion, but you'll be-"

She didn't allow him time to finish his sentence. "What about the baby?" she interrupted, subconsciously reaching a hand towards her abdomen.

"They're going to do an ultrasound to check on her." Catching the tense tone that Blaise's voice took on, he added, "I'm sure she's okay. It wasn't a serious accident."

"When will they be in here?" Blaise made an attempt to keep the concern out of her voice and failed.

Jeremy glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. "They said six-thirty. It's six-twenty. Any minute now."

The time seemed to drag on for at least an hour, but a doctor and nurse entered the room only slightly more than ten minutes after the anticipated time. "Just relax for a moment and I'll check on your baby."

Blaise stared intensely at the monitor while the nurse started the scan. Soon enough, the image of their baby became clear on the screen. She had grown slightly in the past two weeks and had positioned herself differently.

"She's pushed herself into a breech position," the doctor noted. "But you're only twenty weeks. She'll probably turn over again when it's time to deliver."

The doctor examined the image for several treacherously long moments. "It looks like the baby's just fine. Maybe she's just not active right now. Just take it easy for a couple days. Let us know if any problems occur." The doctor finished the scan and excused herself from the room.

Finally Blaise felt a light kick. "I'm so glad she's alright. I got pretty worried for a moment." She let out a sigh of relief. "I was scared for a moment that I- that we- were gonna..." She trailed off.

"That we would lose her," Jeremy completed.

"Okay, I'm both glad and creeped out that you just finished my sentence." Blaise scowled at him.

"You both had me pretty scared in the car when you were unconscious." Jeremy gave her hand a squeeze.

"Sorry about that." Blaise noticed how he moved his shoulder stiffly. "You alright?"

"Yeah. It's just some bruising. Nothing broken. The driver who hit our car was drunk."

"Well, since we're here with nothing to do... wanna list some names?"

"Hmm. Emma?"

"Cute, but I got suspended in middle school for punching a bratty cheerleader named Emma."

"Of course," Jeremy scoffed.

"Hey, she had it coming! How about Rachel?"

Jeremy frowned. "I dunno. I dated a Rachel in high school. It wasn't really a great time..."

"Poor you." Blaise grinned and tweaked at his hair.

"Grace?"

"I punched a Grace, too," Blaise informed. "Lauren."

Jeremy nodded thoughtfully. "I like that one. Susan."

"I pu-" Blaise began, but she was cut off.

"You punched one. How many people did you punch when you were in school?"

Blaise shrugged. "I was gonna say pushed. I still punched too many people to name."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Figures. Molly?"

"Not bad. Erica."

"Good. At least now we have a list."

"It's a start. So what did you do while I was at the shower?"

"Well, Mal and Kai came over and helped paint the extra room."

"Kai helped? I've gotta hear this!" Blaise exclaimed.

"It was really eventful..."

**I couldn't think of a way to end this. Next, you guys will see what events Kai cause.**

** But you must review. Or else a violent bald rabbit will urinate on everything you love. But if you review, you get free ice cream and cookies and junk food.**

**Also, tell me in your reviews what name you like! Lauren, Erica, or Molly? Feel free to suggest other names! I have an idea for the middle name :)**


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